SoundBite Communications, a provider of cloud-based, multichannel proactive customer communications, has released SoundBite Preview+, a preview dialing enhancement to its Hosted Dialer offering on the SoundBite Engage Platform. This provides contact centers with the necessary contact strategies to address regulations that limit the use of automated dialers for certain types of calls to mobile devices.

SoundBite Preview+ requires the agent to manually launch a preview dial and allows the agent to work in a manual-like state. As a result, contact centers can now re-introduce mobile devices into their dialing strategies and provide agents with an account preview of pertinent information prior to launching a call.

SoundBite Preview+ functionality includes the following:

Manual Launch: When a mobile phone number is identified, the agent must manually launch the outbound dialing attempt. Preview+ is specifically designed to require manual intervention in the dialing process as opposed to using a timer that can count down and then launch a call automatically.

Secure Agent Interface: When a call is connected to a ready agent, the encrypted caller data is presented via the Agent Voice Portal, a secure Web-based desktop application. The agent can view the caller information, complete a call transfer, or conference in a third party if needed, and disposition the outcome of the call using custom business rules. Agent utilization and call disposition reports provide actionable insights into agent productivity and campaign performance.

"Organizations are looking at ways to maximize their outbound contact attempts while obeying the rules governing automated dialing to cell phones," said John Tallarico, vice president of product management at SoundBite Communications. "SoundBite Preview+ is designed to increase mobile phone awareness by requiring an agent to launch each preview attempt manually. SoundBite Preview+ bridges the gap between current regulations and newly proposed legislation that would modernize the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.

SoundBite also offers an integrated, multichannel offering to complement its hosted dialer. As a result, contact centers can leverage a variety of communications channels from SoundBite Engage, the multitenant cloud communications platform that also provides interactive text messaging, inbound IVR, and a full suite of pacing, CTI, and agent utilization tools.